Hunting the Pack
by DerFluffy
Summary: Starts off just before the HoW expansion. Petra is in the Tower on Mara Sov's orders, but she is soon recalled to the Reef to organize the fight against Skolas and the House of Wolves. Her ace in the hole against the Fallen? The fireteam of Guardians she's bringing with her.


There are many fates worse than dying. For Petra Venj, her banishment and being assigned as an emissary to the Last City of Earth was as it got. She did not resent her Queen's decision to station her here. After all, it had been Petra's decision that had killed those Guardians. She had accepted her fate and the judgment and scorn that came from every direction, but she had reached her limit. Her dreams of the Reef were too vivid and the longing to be with her Queen again too strong. She could sense a storm brewing in the stars and wished to be with her own when it hit.

She sat in the cockpit of her Vestian fighter in the Tower's Hangar, composing a message to Lady Mara Sov, begging that she be allowed back to the Reef. The ship's amethyst streaks stood out against the cold, grey hangar. Even with her patched eye facing the elevator to the hangar floor, she knew without looking up that someone was approaching her long before she heard the light sound of boots on concrete. There were very few people in the tower that were brave, or foolish enough to approach her uninvited and only one walked lightly enough to be this newcomer.

"Hello, Cayde," she said dully, her battle scarred hands dancing in the last few keystrokes of her plea. It had been too long since she'd had a reason to hold her blade with intent.

"Petra," the Hunter Vanguard greeted, approaching with open arms. They dropped to his sides with one icy glance from the Queen's Emissary as she climbed out of her ship to the floor. "Friendly as ever, I see. What brings you down here? Hope you're not leaving us."

Had she heard that from anyone else in the Tower, Petra would have instantly known it was barely concealed contempt. Coming from Cayde, however, she could never be quite sure. After the first year or so of her banishment, the Hunter had become the closest thing she had to a friend here. Her best guess was that he could tell how much she hated being trapped in the Tower and saw himself in that. That had not earned her any other friends though, making her wonder why the Exo's habits of bending, or occasionally downright breaking the City's rules were tolerated at all.

"No, not yet, anyway," Petra sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "What can I help you with?"

"It just so happens that a very angry, not so little, blue bird told me you were just told about some high priority targets that need taking care of," Cayde said with a wry smile. "Thought I might be able to point out some talent to lend a helping hand."

" _So, Zavala is monitoring my communications, is he?_ " Petra thought. " _That Earthborn bastard._ " She wasn't overly surprised by this however, seeing as it was the tactical decision to make, and was even less troubled by it. Her time with the Corsairs had trained her in espionage well enough to know to encode any messages that actually mattered. It had actually shocked her when she had first received the Queen's bounties unencrypted.

"Did he now? Is someone else looking to rattle the birdcage then, telling me this?" she asked.

"Well, he also made mention of how he didn't want to assign any more Guardians than necessary to what he believes is a wild goose chase. So I thought I'd come see you first, point you towards some prime candidates, and save him the trouble." Cayde answered, as he began to pace with blatant mischief rampant in his orange-lit eyes.

"I see... I suppose if that's the case then I suppose it would be positively rude of me to turn down your help. After all, I am here to mend relations and such. Thank you Cayde," Petra said in a mock-flattered tone, though she couldn't help but feel the twinge of a genuine smile on her lips.

"My pleasure. So, my 'candidate' should be back from an assignment in about an hour. Meet us in the lounge upstairs around then?"

"Of course," she accepted. "Only one Guardian though? Must be quite the accomplished fighter."

"Oh, trust me. He's seen things that I don't think either of us could ever dream of," said the Hunter in a startlingly somber tone. "Sometimes I don't know if I envy him for that though."

Petra stood there, suddenly feeling somewhat awkward, having never seen Cayde display anything but arrogant, bullheaded confidence. Seeing him show actual emotions was almost surreal. He noticed her discomfort and shook his head, trying to force the thoughts out.

"Those are stories for another time though. I'll let you get back to your messages," he said in his usual tone. He turned and walked away with a backwards wave, his cape billowing behind him. "Tell the Queen I said hi!"


End file.
